OECD Statistics on External Development Finance Targeting Environmental Objectives Including the Rio Conventions

The DAC is monitoring external development finance targeting environmental objectives through its Creditor Reporting System (CRS) using “policy markers”: donors are requested to indicate for each development co-operation activity they report to the OECD whether or not it targets environmental objectives.

The Rio Conventions were established in 1992 on Climate Change, Biological Diversity and Desertification. Developed country Parties committed to assist developing countries in the implementation of these Conventions.

A scoring system of three values is used, in which development co-operation activities are “marked” as targeting the environment or the Rio Conventions as the “principal" objective or a “significant" objective, or as not targeting the objective.

Five statistical policy markers exist to monitor external development finance for environmental purposes within the OECD/DAC, these are:

The “Environment” marker (introduced in 1992)

Four Rio markers covering:

Biodiversity (introduced in 1998)

Climate Change Adaptation (introduced in 2010)

Climate Change Mitigation (introduced in 1998)

Desertification (introduced in 1998)

The Rio markers are applicable to Official Development Assistance (ODA) and recently also to other official flows (OOF) (non-concessional developmental flows, excluding export credits) starting from 2010.

Statistical resources and analysis

Climate-related development finance data visualisation portal

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Data on bilateral and multilateral climate-related development finance commitments. Data for OECD DAC members for 2002-2013, and Multilateral Development Banks (MBDs) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in 2013. See:

Joint ENVIRONET and WP-STAT Task Team to Improve Rio Markers, Environment and Development Finance Statistics

The overarching goal of the Task Team is to ensure that DAC methodologies and data remain the reference for the international community in measuring Official Development Assistance (ODA) and non-export credit Other Official Flows (OOF) related to climate change, biodiversity, desertification and other environmental concerns.

The Task Team seeks to achieve this goal in several ways, notably by:

Facilitating improved use and understanding of the Rio markers through greater communication and outreach

Scoping and reviewing options to improve the quality and robustness of the Rio markers and their implementation, where practical and feasible;

Supporting international communities to clarify their information needs and to use or to build on the existing DAC data and systems, avoiding the need for duplicative systems; and

Increasing transparency and support greater accountability in reporting against the Rio Conventions (the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)).

DAC members in November 2013 established the Joint ENVIRONET and WP-STAT Task Team to Improve Rio Markers, Environment and Development Finance Statistics.